


Kokua

by orphan_account



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Lilo & Stitch (2002), Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: Action, Also Elvis Presley songs, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And an awesome uniform, But it's my crack ship, But she is 21 in this so of course she's not going to be a complete child, Evil Creatures, F/M, Gen, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I don't know why I think this is a good idea but it is, I know hardly anyone's going to read this but I just need to let it out., It's called development, Jim just wants to protect his galaxy, Lieutenant Lilo Pelekai, Like can you really resist Elvis Presley songs, Lilo is also a lieutenant in the Galactic Federation, Lilo is bisexual, Lilo is more mature than she is in the movies, Lilo with badass guns, Romance, So shut up and let me write happily, So this keeps happening, Some prejudiced aliens, Spacer Captain Jim Hawkins, The Grand Councilwoman sends Lilo to check out the situation when some things start going amiss, This is a crack ship, cake?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 17:44:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13618452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: At age 21, Lilo is a lieutenant in the Galactic Federation. For her first mission, the Grand Councilwoman sends Lilo, and Stitch, to a far away galaxy to investigate a spacer's claims of missing ships and mysterious murders that seem all too connected.Lilo doesn't expect to find that this galaxy is not so different from her own, but is also very strange at the same time. She also doesn't expect to find a companion in Captain Jim Hawkins, a young man with a past nearly as strange as her own.





	1. An End and a Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I did this. I don't know why I did this, but I did this. The idea came to me in the middle of class and I can't get ideas out of my head until I've written them down. So here it is. I doubt anyone will read it, but if you do read it, I hope you enjoy it.

“Fine,” Lilo Pelekai yells as she slams the door to Myrtle’s room, stomping her way down the hall to the front door, barely waving to Myrtle’s mother as she walks out.

She swings the keys to her battered orange Jeep as she walks towards it, huffing as she sees a new splattering of white goop on her slightly-cracked windshield. Great.

_ Today has been fantastic,  _ Lilo thinks as she rolls her eyes and hauls herself into her car. She starts the car as fast as she can, which isn’t very fast because of the vehicle’s evident need for a repair, and drives away, speeding home through her small town.

As soon as she pulls into her driveway her keys are back in her fidgeting hands and her feet are back on the ground. She walks through the door and stomps to her room, ignoring any attempts her family makes at conversation.

Lilo immediately throws herself onto her bed when she reaches her room. She takes out her frustration by screaming into her pillow. Why does Myrtle have to be so frustrating? Why can’t they just get along? Why couldn’t she have picked a girlfriend who didn’t like to argue with her?

Lilo doesn’t know how long she stays like that, she only looks up when she feels a comforting hand on her back.

She sits up and looks at Stitch, an alien experiment and her best friend, who looks back at her with concern in his large turquoise eyes - most people think they’re black but if you look close enough, they’re turquoise - and she sighs.

Stitch asks, “Are you okay?” It comes out garbled and weird from his alien tongue, but she understands all the same; she always understands what he’s saying.

Lilo shrugs, not sure what else could convey her emotions right now. “Why are relationships so hard, Stitch?”

Lilo knows he doesn’t know the answer, him and Angel are amazing together, but her and Myrtle . . . today wasn’t their first fight, but it was their last. They’re over, and Lilo can’t decide whether she’s angry, sad, or relieved about that.

Maybe that’s why she’s so frustrated, because she has no idea what she’s supposed to be feeling.

“What happened?” Stitch asks, patting her knee nicely as he scoots to sit beside her on her red and white bedspread.

Lilo sighs, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands. “I mentioned that I wanted to go see this new zompire movie and Myrtle said that she didn’t want to see that, but she never wants to see any of the movies that I want to see while she always expects me to go with her to see those stupid chick-flicks she likes.”

Stitch nods, listening intently as she says, “I just feel like she doesn’t care as much about the things that I like while she expects me to care about the things that she likes, you know?”

Stitch replies, “That’s okay, Myrtle was mean anyways.”

Lilo nods, thinking back on all the times Myrtle had called Lilo names or made fun of her when they were children, but she had been nice. Something had changed the past few years, something was different. Lilo just wouldn’t be the one to discover  _ what _ was different.

“Thanks for talking with me, Stitch,” Lilo says as she ruffles the hair on the top of his head, giggling as he tries to flatten the hair she stirred up.

“Lilo,” She hears Nani’s voice call from downstairs, “come down, we have some visitors. They’re asking for you.”

Lilo looks at Stitch to see if he knows anything about this but he just shrugs. They both walk down the stairs together, finding the most unexpected visitors in their living room. Well, one is unexpected while the other has become like family to her.

“Grand Councilwoman,” Lilo says, surprise creeping into her voice as she spies the female alien trying to recline gracefully on the fraying couch in her living room, beside her sits Cobra Bubbles, “Coby.”

Cobra’s lips twitch up, just a bit, before they straighten back into a flat line and he grumbles, “Don’t call me that.”

Lilo smirks as she sits in the creaking rocking chair in the corner of the room. “Why are you guys here?”

They stay silent for a moment, both turning to look at the other. Lilo is about to ask again when the Grand Councilwoman replies, “As you may know, I have been communicating with Agent Bubbles since leaving Experiment 626 on this planet, under your care, fourteen years ago - “

Lilo interrupts, “Stitch has been doing really well, he’s been really good. You’re not taking him away from me, are you?”

Fear clutches Lilo’s heart at the thought of parting with her best friend, she can’t be away from him. She hasn’t spent more than a day away from him since she adopted him when she was five.

The Grand Councilwoman puts her fears at ease, “No, dear, not at all. What I have to say doesn’t even concern 626.”

Lilo calms down, releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She opens her mouth to ask her to continue when Nani suddenly walks into the room and asks, “Then who does it concern?” her arms crossing over her chest as she leans against the side of a door.

The Grand Councilwoman looks at Cobra Bubbles and he explains, “While I was reporting to her about Stitch, I was also telling her about you, Lilo. I told her about your adventures with Stitch and all you did - ”

“And I’m interested,” The Grand Councilwoman finishes for him.

“Interested in what?” Nani asks, stepping forward with narrowed eyes.

“In Lilo,” The Grand Councilwoman replies, her eyes moving from Nani back to Lilo, “As of right now, there are no Earth humans in the Galactic Federation. I would like to change that, and I want you to be the first.”

Lilo’s brows raise as her mouth forms a wide ‘O’ shape. The Grand Councilwoman wants her to do what? “I - You - What?” The words sputter out of her faster than she can stop them.

“I’d like for you to attend the Galactic Federation’s academy,” The Grand Councilwoman explains, “You would be the first Earthling to attend it, and I have no doubt you will graduate with flying colors after all you and 626 did here on Earth with Jumba’s other experiments.”

Lilo listened carefully as the Councilwoman explained that. She finds herself lulled into the words and what they could mean for her. She’d be the first Earthling in the Galactic Federation, working alongside a variety of alien species, as well as working for a woman that she greatly admires.

She has to admit that she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, all human jobs sound boring, but working with aliens and fighting and doing whatever they want her to do sounds like something she’d do well at.

But there’s one thing that concerns her.

“What about Stitch?” Lilo asks, looking down at her blue friend who looks up at her.

The Councilwoman looks at Stitch with narrowed eyes before sighing and saying, “I will allow Stitch’s sentence of exile to cease to be in affect while you are a part of the Federation, as long as he remains with you while off-planet.”

Lilo nods, taking all of this in.

“No,” Nani says, shaking her head, “I’m not letting my little sister become a part of your Federation and do whatever that means.”

Lilo swivels her head to stare at her sister as she says, “It’s not your choice, Nani. I’m an adult now.” It’s true, she turned eighteen a year ago.

“Lilo - “

Lilo turns back to the Councilwoman and says, “I accept.” Even if she ends up not enjoying the work, at least it’ll give her some time away from here and Myrtle, some time to figure things out for herself. 

The Councilwoman smiles while Cobra Bubble’s lips twitch upward into his own type of smile - a proud smile, as far as she can tell - and the Grand Councilwoman says, “I’m looking forward to seeing you at the academy.”

The Councilwoman stands shakily, inclining her head respectfully to Nani before turning back to Lilo, and says, “I’m afraid I must be leaving to negotiate a trade agreement, but Agent Bubbles will fill you in on the details. I’m pleased you’ve accepted my offer.”

“I’m grateful for your offer,” Lilo says, trying to be as respectful as she can though she always feels miniscule in front of the Councilwoman.

The Councilwoman gracefully strides to the door, leaving without saying anything else.

Lilo turns excitedly to Cobra who looks back at her through the dark lenses of his sunglasses. Stitch climbs into her lap as Cobra starts, “So, here’s what you need to know . . . “


	2. Don't Start Any Fires

_Three Years Later_

“Graduating with honors,” The Grand Councilwoman reads out into the microphone, “Lilo Pelekai.”

Lilo walks out onto the stage, wearing her crisp, new uniform. She accepts the belt buckle and badge the Councilwoman hands her - aliens don’t do diplomas - and smiles gratefully, shaking her hand.

The Councilwoman smiles and nods. “I knew you would be a fine pupil, you did extremely well.”

Lilo shrugs, though most would never be so informal around the Grand Councilwoman. “It was easy after growing up with Jumba and Pleakley,” Lilo says, before adding, “and Stitch.”

The Councilwoman lets out a small laugh, the first sign of amusement Lilo’s ever seen from her, and nods towards the crowd where Lilo’s family waits. “They are quite a bunch, aren’t they?”

She follows the Councilwoman’s eyes to find Pleakley squealing as he’s lifted up by Stitch who’s standing on top of Jumba’s head. Nani stands next to them, staring proudly at Lilo while wearing an annoyed grin at their antics.

“Yes,” Lilo replies as she starts to walk towards the other end of the floating stage, “they are.”

As soon as she reaches the other side and steps off the stage she lets loose a breath, taking in a deep gulp of air as she realizes what just happened. She just graduated. She just finished her education at the academy a year quicker than the usual. She just . . . She did it.

“I did it,” Lilo whispers to herself as she looks at the yellow ‘V’ shaped buckle in her hands, the buckle that’s supposed to strap onto her utility belt, and the badge that shows who she is.

There’s a picture of her, taken a few days ago, with her black hair in a high ponytail and her slightly too-long bangs hanging over her right eye. She’s not smiling, she was hoping that if she didn’t try to smile she wouldn’t mess up the picture. She looks serious, like an adult. She looks like someone other people respect.

“How’s it feel,” Asks a voice she’d recognize anywhere, Nani, “Lieutenant Lilo Pelekai?”

Lila inhales sharply at the sound of her new title coming from someone else’s lips. “It’s amazing. I - “

She’s interrupted by the shriek that leaves her lips as Stitch jumps on her, plowing her to the ground. His head is level with her own as he looks down at her and yells, “Congratulations!” in his strange alien way.

“Thanks, Stitch,” Lilo replies as she scratches his head, behind his ear, “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

For real, Lilo has no idea where she’d be without Stitch. If he had never come into her life, she probably would have been put into foster care, would have never had a friend at all, and would still be in community college, trying to decide what boring career to do for the rest of her life.

It helps that he also taught her how to shoot, fly a ship, and learn all those alien languages that she could barely comprehend, as well as the species that they belong to.

“I just can’t believe that our little Lilo is all grown up and becoming a lieutenant in the Galactic Federation,” Pleakley says, holding his hands up to his face before adjusting the curly brown wig that rests on his head.

“It is almost too hard to believe,” Jumba quips, he bends over and looks Lilo in the eye as he whispers, “You didn’t use my special experiment to cheat, did you?”

“No,” Lilo says with a frown before adding, “though I wish I knew you had an experiment to help me cheat in high school. My algebra grades would have improved greatly.”

Jumba starts to say something else when Captain Leiku joins them, inclining his head in greeting to her family before turning to her. “Lieutenant, I know that you’ve only just graduated but I think I’ve found the perfect mission for you to embark on.”

Lilo notices her sister’s furrowed brows at the alien’s speech. Lilo’s spent the last three years learning as many alien languages as she could, while Nani only speaks human languages. Captain Leiku, being a Jishi, can only speak his home language, due to some major difference in the formation of his species throat and tongue, but he can understand nearly every other language.

“What kind of mission, Sir?” Lilo asks respectfully, clasping her hands behind her back and straightening her shoulders.

Captain Leiku looks down at her from his tall stature - his species is known to grow to be up to ten feet tall - with his vibrant blue eyes and responds, “It’s an investigation. There’s a little solar system, not too far away from here, called Gamla Landet. A few weeks ago the Grand Councilwoman received a call from one of the ship’s captains, they call them Spacers, who seemed concerned about a presence building there.”

She raises a brow. “What kind of presence?”

Captain Leiku shrugs. “He wasn’t for sure. He said that a few common ships were going missing, his friends were vanishing. He also mentioned a murder. He says he’s concerned for the sailors and what this could mean for the trade federation they have there.”

“We trust the information coming from him,” Lilo says, wondering why this one man’s word is so important to the Councilwoman.

Captain Leiku nods his bald head. “He was previously a cadet in this academy. He spent two years as a lieutenant but left after a while, preferring the life of a Spacer to the life of a military man.”

Lilo nods. “When do you want me to leave?” She was hoping to spend more time with her family, after having been away from Earth for nearly three years she’s only seen them during holidays or on the two month vacation students got during the middle of the year.

“A few days, at most,” The captain informs, holding out a datachip in his grey hand, “here’s the information you’ll need, including the coordinates, if you want the job. It’s a big job for someone so new, but I have no doubt you’ll succeed.”

The captain was Lilo’s favorite teacher, he always believed in her while other teacher were a bit prejudice due to her being human. He helped her when she didn’t understand something and none of her alien family could help her. He always tried to find a way for her to understand what he was saying, even after she became fluent in his language.

She takes the datachip from his hand with a smile plastered to her face. “I’d be honored, Captain. Thank you for the opportunity.”

Captain Leiku nods, clapping her on the shoulder once, before walking away.

Lilo turns back to her family to find them staring at her expectantly. Nani steps forward and asks, “What just happened?”

Lilo smiles brightly and hugs the datapad to her chest. “I was just assigned my first mission.”

* * *

 

“Ready to go, Stitch?” Lilo yells as she grabs her ratty backpack from the back of her desk chair, pulling her arms through it straps before grabbing her utility belt and tightening that around her waist.

Stitch climbs down from his little area of their room and jumps on her shoulder. “Ready,” He says excitedly.

Lilo smiles and shakes her head. “Alright, let’s get out of here.”

She hurries down the stairs of her home with Stitch on her shoulder, taking the steps two at a time. Her first mission. She can’t believe it. To be sent on something so important, right out of the academy . . . The Grand Councilwoman must think highly of Lilo.

She has to hold back tears as she finds her family, including David and Cobra Bubbles, waiting in the living room. She goes to Nani first, wrapping her arms around her elder sister, and says, “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too,” Nani says as she hugs her back tightly, as if she doesn’t want to let go, “E mālama.” _Be safe._

“I will,” Lilo promises, though she knows that she can’t keep that promise. She doesn’t know what this new system will bring, only that it will bring adventure and possibly danger; two things she desperately wants more of.

“Watch over her, turd,” Nani says to Stitch as she ruffles the hair on his head.

“Ohana means family,” Stitch says as he smiles.

Lilo finishes their family motto for him, “Family means nobody gets left behind, or forgotten.”

She hears a small sniffle and looks over to find Pleakley trying to hold back his tears. Jumba looks at his long-time friend (and more, if Lilo’s suspicions are correct) and rubs a comforting hand down his back.

Lilo walks over to them and hugs Pleakley, squealing as Jumba engulfs them both into a hug, lifting them off their feet. He hugs them tightly until Lila has to squeak, “Jumba, can’t breathe, let go.”

He sits them gently on their feet and pats Lilo’s head, smiling fondly down at her. “I suppose you aren’t so bad for a human child.”

“I’m not a child anymore,” Lilo says with a scowl. Her scowl smooths out as she realizes how much she’ll miss them, her chosen family. “I’ll miss you, guys.”

“We’ll miss you too,” Pleakley says as Lilo notices Jumba’s multiple eyes starting to water.

Jumba reaches into the pockets of his shorts and hands her two tiny machines. One looks like an IPod and the other looks like a watch. “This,” He points to the IPod thing and says, “will hook up to your ship and play whatever music you want in it.”

He points to the other and the tears that were welling in his eyes are now falling down his cheeks as he says, “This will allow you to communicate with us whenever you want, or need, just press the blue button twice.”

She notices the blue button, but she also notices a few other buttons. “What about the other buttons?”

Jumba nods towards Stitch and says, “He knows what those are for, he’ll tell you when you need them.”

Lilo quickly heads towards David and Cobra Bubbles. David smiles kindly, holding out a fist for fist-bump, as he says, “Don’t start any fires while you’re gone.”

“I’ll try,” Lilo says with a huff, knowing full well that setting fires was not part of her plan.

Cobra looks at her. His eyes, not hidden behind his sunglasses today, taking note of her uniform, the buckle that shows her rank, and the two blasters she has attached to her utility belt. “You look prepared.”

“I’m trying to be,” Lilo replies, not knowing what else to say.

“You will do well,” Cobra says, nodding to himself, “Lui-Eena informed me that you graduated at the top of your class, even a year early. You should be proud.”

Lui-Eena . . . that’s the Grand Councilwoman’s real name. Since when does Cobra use the Grand Councilwoman’s first name? Since when does anyone?

Lilo’s shock must’ve been apparent because Cobra chuckles. “Lui-Eena and I are good friends, Lilo, though I do try no to let her name slip out unless I’m speaking directly to her.”

Lilo nods, still processing the information that the Grand Councilwoman has friends. Obviously Lilo knows that the she has friends, but she never imagined that she knew one of those friends, or that those friends call her by her first name. It’s . . . unsettling. She’s always pictured the Grand Councilwoman as an untouchable goddess, hearing someone speak her first name so familiarly makes her feel . . . normal.

“I think it’s time for me to go,” Lilo says, heading for the door. She turns around when her hand reaches the knob. “I’ll miss you all.”

“We’ll miss you too,” Nani says, smiling sadly.

Lilo nods before slipping out of the door. She walks down the stairs quickly and heads to the garage they built for their spaceships. She heads straight for her own personal ship, a gift from Jumba and Pleakley for her fifteenth birthday.

A SR-100 Space-Cruiser with a bright red paint job, the Lobster is in the best shape a spaceship can be in, unlike the Jeep that she drives around town in. It’s shaped sort-of like a scallop seashell, if scallop seashells had wings on the sides. The cockpit is in the front, a large rounded area that curves slightly until it turns into the square area that is the cargo area and the ramp that comes down for passengers.

Lilo immediately takes the pilot’s seat and Stitch crawls into the co-pilot’s seat. She goes through the motions of starting the spaceship, flipping switches and pressing all the right buttons, while Stitch checks on random things: pressure, fuel, oil, gravity emitters, etc.

Once she finishes and Stitch is back in his seat Lilo puts the coordinates into the holomap that is alight between hers and Stitch’s seats. She watches as the holomap shows her the swiftest path to this new solar system and Lilo inhales sharply.

Stitch looks at her with concern in his eyes, asking if she’s alright.

Lilo nods, smiling, “It’s just farther away than I thought it would be.”

Stitch reaches across the space between their seats and grabs her hand, squeezing. “Thanks, Stitch,” Lilo says, feeling herself calm immediately.

Lilo flies her spaceship out of their hanger and up into the air. She flies smoothly until she’s in space. She sees Earth below her and bites her lip, loving that it looks so small from where she is. She’ll never tire of being among the stars where adventure is around every corner.

She says a silent goodbye to her home planet before looking at Stitch with a devilish smirk, “Ready for something new?”

Stitch nods. “Ready.”

Lilo smiles as she punches the lightspeed button, setting them on course for their arrival in Gamla Landet. Lilo wonders what new and exciting things she’ll find there as she races through the stars in her bright red spacecraft with her blue best friend by her side and Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” playing on the radio.


	3. I Call Bullshit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the words that are italicized and Lilo says are from Stitch's language are actually from a Disney canon language called Tantalog. Here are the translations:
> 
> Eegalagoo - Wow  
> Takka - Thanks  
> Tookie bah wah bah - Let's get started/yahoo/cowabunga, etc.  
> Ih - Yes/Yeah  
> Patooki - Butt  
> Morcheeba - Very nice
> 
> Also, the words for some of the things in this story, like the name of the solar system that Jim lives in - I'm totally making this up, by the way, I have no idea about anything to do with astronomy - and the foods that he tells Lilo about, are actually me finding words from other languages, a lot of Swedish words, and messing them up a bit so they're not exactly the same but close enough.
> 
> P.S. I don't know why anyone would read this trash ship fic of mine, but if you do thanks for reading. You're the real MVP.

The ship lands on auto-pilot just as Lilo finishes putting on her uniform, finding comfort in the tight, but soft, suit that she’s worn for the past three years; although, this uniform isn’t the student’s uniform she’s worn, it’s a lieutenant’s uniform, with yellow stripes lining the neckline, arms, the side of the suit, and down the legs. Lilo also opted for her uniform to have quarter sleeves rather than the normal thick straps that only cover the shoulders.

Lilo walks out of her ship’s bathroom as she clasps her belt around her hips, checking to make sure her blasters and other tools are in the utility belt, as she yells for Stitch.

Stitch climbs out of the co-pilot’s seat and climbs onto her shoulders. “ _Eegalagoo_ ,” Stitch says in Tantalog, the language that Jumba programmed into his DNA, smiling as he looks at her brand new uniform.

“ _Takka_ ,” Lilo says back in Tantalog, smiling as she sees Stitch’s eyes light up. He still loves when Lilo uses Tantalog, English has never been easy for him, though some things in English don’t translate to Tantalog.

She lowers the ramp to her ship and steps walks out, grabbing her bag of necessities along the way. When she exits the ramp she finds herself standing in the middle of something from the pilgrim days.

The men here look like pirates in loose-fitting shirts and regular brown pants with leather boots. Ships look like actual wooden ships, though they’re flying which she doesn’t understand at all considering pilgrims didn’t have flying boats. Did they? Women walk around with corsets and bonnets on, which makes Lilo feel insecure considering her outfit is the opposite of modest while their outfits are completely modest. Also, there are humans here. How are there humans in a whole other system? Species are specific to planets, so how did these humans get here?

“We’re supposed to be meeting a Captain Jim Hawkins,” Lilo says to Stitch as she scans the crowd, looking for a man, though she’s not sure what he looks like considering there wasn’t a picture in the files.

“ _Tookie bah wah bah_ ,” Stitch says, rubbing his four hands together in front of him.

“Yeah, let’s,” Lilo agrees and dives into the crowd with Stitch on her shoulder. She pulls people aside and asks if they know the man she’s looking for. Most shake their heads sympathetically, while others frown as if she asked them to give her the bonnets off their heads.

She’s about to head back to her ship when she feels a tapping on her shoulder. She turns around to face a young human man, maybe a couple years older than her, with blue eyes and brown hair, parted on both sides with a bit of a braided tail in the back. A small scar graces his left temple, pale against his slightly tanned skin. He’s tall too, way taller than her, with muscular shoulders. _He’s actually kind of cute,_ Lilo thinks to herself, though she shuts that thought down immediately.

She also notices that he isn’t wearing clothes as nice as some of the other gentlemen who walk down the streets of this port; probably one of the Spacers she’s heard about. “Can I help you?” She asks politely.

“Actually, I think I can help you,” The young man says, a smirk forming on his lips as he adds, “I heard you’re looking for Jim Hawkins.”

Lilo’s eyes widen. “Yes,” She replies, “do you know him?” Maybe this man is a part of his crew.

The man smiles and nods. He drops into a bow, more mocking than polite, and says, “Jim Hawkins, at your service.”

Lilo frowns at this. She was expecting an older man, with greying hair and wrinkled skin, not a young man, not a man close to her own age. “You’re James Hawkins, the Spacer Captain?”

Jim Hawkins, now standing straight, says, “It’s Jim,” He looks her over now, his eyes lingering on the blasters attached to her curvy hips and Stitch on her shoulders, “and most people don’t say the whole ‘Spacer Captain’ thing.”

“You’re not what I expected,” Lilo comments, acknowledging that she’s probably not what he expected either.

He confirms this by saying, “Well, I wasn’t expecting you either. I was hoping they’d send a captain, like Captain Leiku.”

“I graduated top of class a year early,” Lilo says, defending herself and her position, “I can handle whatever the problem is efficiently.”

Stitch backs her up in his strange language, “ _Ih, patooki_.” Lilo watches as Jim’s eyes move to Stitch; his brow furrows as he contemplates Stitch’s words, clearly not understanding what he said.

“You don’t speak Tantalog,” Lilo notes.

He shakes his head. “What did your . . . friend say?”

“He called you a butt and agreed with me,” Lilo explains.

“Oh,” Jim says, as if he gets called a butt every day, and then shrugs it off. “Well, you know my name, if we’re going to work together, I should know yours.”

Lilo holds out her hand for a handshake, he takes it easily, “Lilo Pelekai.”

He releases her hand and Stitch says, “I’m Stitch.”

Jim nods. “Alright, glad to meet you.”

“So,” Lilo begins, ready to get to the mission, “what’s been going on around here?”

Jim casts a weary glance around the port before shaking his head, he whispers, “Not here,” and starts walking in a random direction. Lilo follows him, hoping he doesn’t lead her into some weird trap or something.

* * *

 

Jim spreads his arms proudly as he steps onto what she assumes is his ship. “Welcome aboard the _Blixt_ , my ship.”

Lilo looks around, though she has no idea if this a good quality ship or not because she deals with spacecrafts not boats, and says, “Nice.”

Jim nods, looking around himself. “She does her job.”

He heads towards a door near the front (or is it the back) of the ship. He holds it open for Lilo who walks through, muttering a quick “Thank you,” and sits at one of the chairs place in front of the desk. Stitch takes the other chair as their host sits in the chair behind the desk.

He rests his elbows on the desk and laces his hands together, lifting them so his thumbs are pressed against his chin. He looks at the table in concentration before he says, “Things have been happening.”

He leans back in his chair, away from the desk as he explains, “My friends, other captains, have been going missing, their ships and crews vanishing into thin air. That’s how it started at least. Two months ago, we found the wreckage of one of the ships, it was blasted through with something that - “

Jim pauses, taking a deep breath before he says, “Something that was so powerful that that ship had no hope for survival. We only found a few things that even clued us in to it being a ship. The next thing we found was a - a corpse, of sorts, of one of our leaders, a representative of the trade federation. He was brutally murdered, nothing was left but his head.”

“How do you know these crimes are connected?” Lilo asks as she takes in the information.

“Because of what we found at the two crime sites, and what we found in the vicinity of where we think the ships vanished,” Jim says, opening a desk drawer and pulling something out. He slides it across the desk and watches as Lilo takes it.

It’s a little silken pouch with a drawstring to close it. She looks up at him for a second before pulling her eyes back to the pouch. She opens it and looks into it, finding an acrid-smelling black powder.

She looks up at Jim with a question in her eyes, about to open her mouth to voice it when he explains, “We’re calling it Dödidami, though we have no idea what it does, we’ve found it at, or near, to all the sites.”

“Is it poisonous?” Lilo asks, carefully tying the bag back up so she doesn’t lose any of the evidence.

Jim shakes his head.

“Where should we start?” Lilo asks, ready for some action.

“To my mother’s hotel,” Jim answers, his eyes finding her face, “You look dead on your feet, you should rest before we do any investigating.”

It’s true. Lilo hasn’t slept since they left Earth, two days ago; though, in her defense, her ship’s seats aren’t the best for sleeping. “I suppose a goodnight’s sleep won’t kill me,” She concedes, standing with Jim.

* * *

 

“Your mother’s place is nice,” Lilo comments as she lands her ship in the landing bay they have on the side of the towering building.

Jim smiles proudly, and fondly, his eyes shining with something she doesn’t understand. “Thanks.”

As soon as they enter the gigantic building, Jim sweeps through the crowd, heading towards the back where Lilo assumes the kitchen is. As she follows Jim she notices a few aliens staring at her and Stitch weirdly, like they’ve never seen anything like either of them.

She enters the kitchen behind Jim and sighs as she gets out of the crowd. She exhales a deep breath right before she hears an angry yell, “James Pleiades Hawkins!”

Lilo looks up in the direction of the voice to see an older woman with brown hair striding towards Jim with a wooden spoon in her hand. She whacks his shoulder with it, making him yell, "Ow!" and then she pulls him into a tight hug, releasing him quickly so she can slap him with her spoon again.

“What’s that for, Mom?” Jim exclaims, rubbing his shoulder tenderly.

She points the spoon at him threateningly. “Two weeks, James. Two weeks that I haven’t heard from you. With all that’s been going on with Spacers, would it kill you to communicate with me so I know you’re alright?”

Jim rolls his eyes. “Mom, nothing’s going to happen to me,” He states confidently, “you know that.” She frowns as she seems to remember something, something that she wishes she could forget, “Besides, I was busy getting backup from the Galactic Federation.”

Jim points to Lilo and his mother’s eyes follow his pointing. “A lieutenant?” His mother asks, seeming impressed that he got that much.

Lilo nods, stepping forward. “Lilo Pelekai, nice to meet you.”

The woman’s eyes move up and down Lilo’s body before she breaks into a kind smile and says, “Sarah Hawkins, nice to meet you as well. You look hungry, I’ll whip you something up.”

“Actually, Mom,” Jim starts, “I think Lilo was looking forward to sleeping - “

“Food sounds great,” Lilo interrupts, cutting Jim off, “as long as there’s some for Stitch, too.”

Sarah’s eyes land on Stitch and her brows furrow for a second before she nods. “Sure, does he eat regular food?”

Lilo nods, “He eats _and_ cooks regular food.”

They both look slightly impressed by this, but it’s common knowledge around her house that Stitch is the one who cooks while Lilo is the one who . . . well, doesn’t cook.

Jim gestures for her to follow him and says, “Let’s find a place to sit and talk while we wait for our food.”

“I didn’t say I was making you anything, James,” Sarah says.

He winks in his mother’s direction and says, “Whatever you say, Ma.”

He walks back out into the fray of the hotel and chooses a booth in the back of the room, sitting on one side while Stitch and Lilo take the other side.

Lilo looks around at the many different creatures in the room, all laughing and conversing in their own languages, picking over foods that she can’t even comprehend. “Can I ask you a question?” Lilo asks.

Jim nods while his left hand plays with the salt shaker in the middle of the table. “Sure.”

“How are you here?” Lilo asks, then, realizing how that sounds, restates her question, “I mean, humans. How are humans here? I thought species were specific to planets and no two planets has the same species as another.”

“That’s true,” Jim says, nodding. “It’s really hard to explain how we came to be here. Basically, all you need to know is some time travel went wrong but space travel did not and this happened.”

“So, are humans the dominant species in this solar system?” Lilo asks, noting the lack of humans in the hotel. She knows humans aren’t the dominant species in her own system.

“Nah,” Jim answers, looking around the group himself, “humans are actually a bit of a dying breed here. I’ve only met a few myself.”

Lilo nods, taking in the information for future reference.

“Now, can I ask you a question?” Jim asks, his eyes landing on Stitch as he speaks.

“Stitch is the result of an illegal genetic experiment of a scientist in my system named Jumba Jookiba,” Lilo explains, not waiting for his question, “he crash-landed on Earth after escaping imprisonment by the Galactic Federation - “

“I wasn’t going to ask about your friend,” Jim interrupts, causing Lilo’s eyes to widen in surprise, “though knowing that he’s an illegal experiment does explain a few things.”

Lilo’s brow furrows as she asks, “Then what were you going to ask?”

“How you, a human of Earth, became a part of the Galactic Federation?” Jim asks, obviously curious about her lot in life and what led to it.

Lilo laughs to herself. “That’s a long, crazy story.”

Jim raises a challenging brow, a smirk raising the corners of his lips, as he says, “I think we have time.”

So Lilo tells him her story. Lilo tells him about how Stitch came to be her friend, and how they rescued all Stitch’s “cousins” and saved the Galactic Federation from Hämsterviel when he took over with the clones of Leroy; points to Jim for only looking moderately confused when she told him about that.

Thirty minutes after she starts her story she finishes. “So, that’s basically why the Grand Councilwoman asked me to join the Galactic Federation.”

Jim stares at her with wide eyes before bursting into laughter. She has to hold back a snort herself; after all, some of her stories were quite amusing. “Wait,” Jim holds up a hand, “let me get this straight.”

He repeats a summed up version of her story, “You decided to adopt a creepy, blue ‘dog’ that talks and he ended up being a genetic experiment meant only to destroy, created by an evil scientist, and you ended up keeping said ‘dog’ even though he caused a whole bunch of problems for you and your family and the evil scientist became sort of like an uncle to you, as well as a weird alien who was obsessed with a small bug that sucks blood from living creatures.”

Lilo shrugs. “Yes.”

Jim shakes his head in disbelief. “And you helped rescue all 628 of your alien dog’s cousins?”

Lilo nods. “Yeah.”

“I call bullshit,” Jim says with a chuckle.

“You can call it all you like,” Lilo says, not caring in the slightest; she’d tried to convince Myrtle of the same thing for years, “It’s all true.”

Jim looks at her with narrowed eyes for a long time before he finally huffs and relaxes in his seat, shrugging. “I believe you.”

“What?” Lilo asks, the word dropping out of her mouth before she can stop it. No one outside her family has ever believed her, not even about the truth about Stitch. No one. Myrtle certainly didn’t, even after her pretty puppy was shown to be one of Stitch’s cousins.

“I believe you,” Jim repeats, his hand still playing with salt shaker on the table. “Maker knows I’ve had some weird things happen to me.”

Lilo opens her mouth to ask Jim what he means by that when his mom comes out of nowhere, dropping plates of food and glasses of some beverage on the table. “Enjoy,” She says with a smile before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Lilo looks at the food in front of her with a raised brow. It’s like nothing she’s ever seen: tentacles with a pink, rectangular fruit on top, some kind of noodles with a bright green sauce splattered across them, some type of blue meat with vegetables of some kind on the side.

She shrugs as she starts to pile a little of everything on her plate and asks, “Can you tell me what this stuff is?”

She’s used to eating things from other worlds - they don’t exactly serve Earthen food at the academy - and she always likes to learn what she’s eating in case she likes it so she can have Stitch learn how to make it, though getting the ingredients is always a hassle.

Jim nods. He points to the noodles first, “That’s gröna nular, just noodles with some gröna sauce on top.” At her blanks look, he adds, “Gröna is a type of vegetable.”

Lilo nods, understanding at least that. He points to the tentacle stuff as he says, “That’s bläckfik with persita on top,” He points to the fruit, explaining, “Persita is a particularly special fruit that’s sweet raw but actually becomes a little spicy when cooked.”

Lilo looks at it with interest, she’s always liked spicy foods. He continues talking, pointing to the last tray of food, the blue meat, “Last, but also my favorite, is Blatkot, a meat coming from a hard to catch beast that hunts its prey in the mountains. The meat is always tender and goes well with everything.”

Lilo nods, taking that all in and storing it in her head. She points to their cups, looking into her own to see bright orange liquid. Jim answers, even though he’s trying to chow down on his food, “Solavattin, it’s a type of fizzy fruit juice.”

Lilo shrugs, taking a drink. It’s citrusy, but also really sweet, sort of like a mix between lemon and strawberries, and it fixes like soda as it goes down her throat. She looks over at Stitch to tell him that he should try some to find that he’s already finished his dinner and his drink.

He looks at her and rubs his stomach. “ _Morcheeba_ ,” He says, hiccuping right after the word leaves his mouth.

Jim looks up at the word and inquires, “What’s that mean?”

“It was a compliment to the food,” Lilo mumbles as she starts eating her own food, enjoying the sweet sauce on the salty noodles.

She finds that she actually really enjoys the food here, especially the spicy tentacles, and makes a note to herself to ask Sarah for the recipes and to stock up on ingredients before she leaves so Stitch can make it for their family back home.

While they eat Lilo asks Jim about his solar system, trying to learn as much about this strange place as she can. Jim answers all her questions, telling her stories about the many different worlds he’s been to and the aliens he’s met.

Sarah comes by and clears their plates away when they finish eating, prompting Jim to stand and nod for her to follow him. Stitch climbs onto Lilo’s shoulder again, clinging to her neck, as she’s follows Jim down a hall and up a few sets of stairs.

They finally reach a locked door that Jim unlocks with a swift turn of a key and they walk in. He leads her into a living area that must be his family’s personal space of the hotel.

“This is my mother’s personal part of the hotel,” Jim explains as he drops his keys in a bowl that sits on a antique coffee table.

The living room is really nice - nicer than Lilo’s house could have ever hoped to be with all the aliens crashing into her house and fighting in it at any given time - with lacy curtains and a beautiful floral print couch. Vases of flowers that are unlike anything Lilo’s ever seen on Earth sit on two side tables.

Jim inclines his head to a door that Lilo never even noticed. “That’s the bathroom,” He explains. Lilo wonders if there’s a modern bathroom, or if the bathroom is as rustic as their ships and clothes, but she doesn’t ask.

Jim then points to another door that’s on the wall that Lilo’s back is facing. “That’s the guest bedroom, where you’ll be staying.”

Lilo nods, starting to head towards it when he says, “If you need anything, I’ll be in my room, it’s down the hall, first door on the left.”

“Thanks,” Lilo says.

“No problem.”

Then she enters her room, not bothering to say goodnight. Stitch jumps off her shoulder and heads straight for the canopy bed, burying himself underneath the warm-looking quilt. Lilo’s eyes wander around the room, catching on the cream-colored lace curtains and the antique vanity in the corner.

She walks across the floor, grinning at the creaks from the wooden floorboards; at least one thing in this hotel isn’t perfect. It doesn’t take her too long to change into her comfy nightgown; a near replica of the dress she used to wear as a kid, though this one reaches a little above her knees instead of her ankles.

She folds her uniform carefully and sits it on the vanity before laying down in her bed and pulling the comforter up to her chin. Stitch snuggles up next to her, though she knows in the middle of the night he’ll move to the farthest edge of the bed and take the covers with him. With the warmth of the mattress and the nice pillow under her head, it doesn’t take long for Lilo to fall asleep as she counts skiep, a type of three-headed sheep-like creature from Jumba’s homeplanet, in her head.


	4. No, Stitch, You Cannot Be Destructive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made a tiny change. Instead of Jim being a completely different galaxy, it's only a solar system now. I fixed it in the other chapters, so if you're reading this after I've fixed it . . . just forget I've said anything.
> 
> Tantalog Translations:  
> Goobaja - Let's go  
> Kanja ooga - No cousins  
> Kata baka dooka - May I be destructive?  
> Ah-qae jihad - Blast him

Lilo reluctantly opens her eyes as she hears a light tapping on her door. She notices the light streaming into her room from the window above her bed and groans as it makes her sleep-numbed head ache when it shines in her eyes. She almost pulls her cover back over her head when she realizes that her comforter is rolled around Stitch on the other side of the bed and that today is the first day of her mission.

Lilo stands, stretching her arms above her head as she stifles a yawn. She yells out, “I’m coming,” to whoever stands outside the door as she slowly plods towards the door, trying to pull the knots in her hair apart with her fingers.

She opens the door quickly to stop the knocking, finding Jim on the other side with his fist raised as if he were about to knock again.

He blushes as he realizes he’s caught. “Oh,” He says, “you’re awake.”

He’s holding a pile of clothes and he starts to hand them to her when his eyes land on her body, more importantly her nightdress, and he sees that the dress doesn’t cover nearly as much as much as she suspects a lady’s in his society should. His eyes snap up from her bare shins to her eyes and quickly hands her the pile of clothes.

“I thought it would be better if you blended in,” He explain as she takes the dully-colored clothes. “They’re my mom’s so they should fit.”

“There’s a pair of pants in this bundle, right?” Lilo inquires and she frowns down at the bundle. She was hoping to wear her uniform, she did _ just _ get it.

Jim replies with a chuckle, “I figured you’d want some in case we need to fight our way out of something.”

Lilo nods. “Thank you.”

* * *

 

Lilo frowns at herself as she looks in the mirror at her new set of clothes. The outfit is  in varying shades of dull colors, light and dark, compared to her usually brightly colored outfits. The shirt is a peach button-up shirt with a V-neck and long, flowing sleeves. The pants are like thick leggings, cream-colored brown on the outside and fuzzy on the inside. She finds that Jim also gave her a pair of  thigh-high boots in the pile, which she pulls on like she would her normal military boots, though these tie up the back and are dark brown instead up zip-ups of black leather.

Lilo admits that while the clothes aren’t something she would normally wear, even before she started wearing a uniform to school every day, they are comfortable, especially since they aren’t skin tight or too loose.

Stitch, now awake, asks if he can braid her hair and she lets him, knowing that he enjoys doing such a small thing for her. He plaits her long black hair into a nice braid, looping a ponytail - he always seems to have one on hand - around the end to keep it in place.

Lilo loops her belt around her hips, not caring that her Galactic Federation Militia ‘V’ buckle is on the belt. She grabs all the things she might need and steps out into the living room, finding Jim, his mother, and some man she doesn’t know sitting and talking while some children run around the couch.

Jim looks up when her door’s hinges squeak. He elbows the other man and points to her. “Doppler, this is Lieutenant Lilo Pelekai,” He says, then looks to Lilo and points to the man, “Lilo, this is Delbert Doppler.”

The man, Doppler, looks at her with approval in his eyes. “Jim, you were right when you said she was pretty,” Doppler says as Lilo studies him, not even really hearing what he said. She doesn’t know what species he is, only that he isn’t human, with his droopy ears and weirdly shaped nose, he could be a type of canine/humanoid species.

Jim rolls his eyes. “You’re twisting my words, old man. I said that she’s pretty for a human, if you’re into that sort of thing,” Jim stumbles over his words and that’s when Lilo realizes her called her pretty, he told a man who’s obviously his friend that she’s pretty.

“Thanks,” Lilo says with a snort. She turns to Doppler and holds out her hand politely, smiling when he takes it and shakes it. She sits down on the empty cushion beside him and asks, “Would it be rude if I asked what species you are?”

Doppler shakes his head. “Not at all,” He answers kindly, his smile not fading in the slightest, “I understand that on Earth things are different and my species is completely unheard of.  I am a Hund, from the planet of Korneis, we are a species of highly intelligent creatures, gifted with heightened senses of smell - “

Doppler cuts himself off as one of the running children knock over a lamp. “Oh, Cecila,” He yells, “don’t break Mrs. Hawkin’s - “

“Papa,” The girl, who looks more feline than Doppler’s canine, says, “I’m Yara.”

Doppler’s eyes widen and he says, “Of course you are, dear.” He looks at Sarah pleadingly and she only shakes her head. “Just try to be careful, alright?”

The girl nods and runs off, knocking the whole table over this time.

Jim, who laughed through the whole exchange, shakes his head in disbelief. “You can’t remember your own kid’s name.”

Doppler frowns. “This is our third litter of three,” Doppler explains with a huff, “forgive me for getting my nine childrens’ names wrong.”

Lilo’s eyes widen. Nine? She could barely imagine one kid, let alone nine. Poor Mr. Doppler.

“Does Amelia get their names wrong?” Jim asks teasingly.

Doppler rolls his eyes. “You know she doesn’t, she has to excel at everything she does, including mothering. It’s annoyingly endearing.”

Lilo starts to ask if Amelia is his wife but Stitch walks out of the room at that moment, poking her knee and saying, “ _ Goobaja _ .”

Lilo stands. “Jim, I think we should get started for the day,” Lilo says, excited for her first day of her first actual mission, “Stitch is ready to go too.”

Jim nods, standing himself. “Yeah, we should probably leave so we can get to our appointment in time.”

Lilo raises a brow. “Appointment?” That’s news to her. She didn’t know they had an appointment. Who are they meeting?

“I’ll tell you about it on the way,” Jim replies and waves to his mom and friend, saying goodbye.

* * *

 

They end up taking her spaceship; Jim reluctantly agreed with her that her ship is faster than his.

Despite his promise to tell her about the appointment on the way to it, Jim stays quiet. He doesn’t say anything as she flies to the destination of the coordinates he plugged into her holomap; she had trouble believing that he actually knew how to work a holomap, but he explained that they have the same technology available to them as the people in her solar system and they just don’t use it because of sentimental value.

She doesn’t understand it, but she doesn’t say anything against it either. It’s their lives, let them live it the way they want to.

She lands at the port that his coordinates lead to, landing smoothly in the space designated for her by the parking manager. She turns to Jim, who’s already out of his seat, as she turns off the power in her ship.

“Explain,” Lilo commands, prepared to not let him off this ship until he tells her where they’re going and who they’re meeting.

Jim sighs and sits back down. “Remember how I said I believed you about your blue friend because some weird things have happened to me too?”

Lilo nods. How could she forget? It was only last night that he said that. He continues after seeing her nod, “Well, when I was fifteen, I . . . found this map to the hugest treasure in the solar system, an old pirate’s treasure, and me and Doppler set off to find it together, we found a ship and everything; that’s actually how he met his wife.”

Jim bites his lip as if he can’t decide whether he wants to share the next part or not. He must decide to because he says, “There was crew member on the ship, John Silver, who schemed to take all the treasure for himself. He ended up helping me get off the treasure planet before it exploded, a trap laid by the pirate so nobody would steal his treasure.”

Lilo wonders where he’s going with this when he says, “Anyways, he went to prison for his crimes, the death of a crewmate included, but he got out a few months ago, due to good behavior. He was the first to notice things going amiss, and he reached out to me to see if I was still okay with all the Spacers disappearing. He told me he’s been investigating some things. I figured he might know something.”

“You believe him?” Lilo asks, not sure if she would believe someone who tried to steal a gigantic treasure from her and went to prison for the death of crewmate.

“Yeah,” Jim says, one simple word, though his expression says much more. He looks like a lost puppy, his eyes downcast and his lower lip jutted out a bit. She almost reaches out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder when a pink thing flies out from somewhere - she has absolutely no idea where - and squishes itself against his cheek.

Jim looks up with a smile and tickles the pink thing with a single finger. “Thanks, Morph,” He whispers.

Lilo looks at the wriggling pink thing in awe while Stitch crawls up Jim and sniffs the thing while it flies mid-air. He wrinkles his nose and jumps away, saying, “ _ Kanja ooga _ .”

Lilo doesn’t know what’s more amusing: the fact that Stitch thought this pink thing from another system was his cousin, or the fact that he’s surprised it’s not his cousin. She looks at Jim for an explanation of the floating thing as it flies up to her and looks at her with wide eyes.

“Lilo, meet Morph. He’s a . . . I don’t know what he is, but he’s basically Stitch for me, except he changes forms,” Jim explains.

Morph looks at Lilo with a wide smile and then suddenly changes into a miniature, pink Stitch. Stitch looks at this with annoyed eyes while Lilo lights up with excitement. “That’s amazing.”

Stitch frowns and grumbles, “ _ Kata baka dooka _ .”

“No, Stitch,” Lilo says with a sigh, trying to hide her giggles at his obvious jealousy, “you cannot be destructive.”

Morph turns back into himself and flies behind Jim’s head. Jim rolls his eyes at his pet’s cowardice as he stands and gestures to the ramp. “We should get moving.”

“Yeah,” Lilo agrees, “before Stitch and Morph have a little battle of adorableness.”

* * *

 

They walk through the streets of a big, dingy city on a strange planet. Jim tells her that the city’s name is Dakȯ. Many people, none human, walk past them, sneering at them. Lilo takes a guess that humans aren’t exactly popular with many species in this solar system. Whens she asks Jim about this he agrees, telling her it’s a prejudice because how they just showed up and expected a place in this system like they were entitled to something.

So basically, their ancestors were self-righteous immigrants, like the Spanish with the Mayans and Aztecs or the Americans and her own people, who thought they could just stay wherever they wanted without consequences, especially when people were already settled where they landed.

Lilo keeps her shoulders hunched as she walks through the crowd, trying to step around people when they nearly run into her. She’s not looking for a fight, and she doesn’t want to start one by accidentally bumping one of the prejudiced creatures.

Jim stops walking in front of a building with cracked paint and dirty windows. The dull neon sign above the door says, “Huǧaw Krŏg.” She doesn’t know what it means, but it’s apparently their destination.

Jim pushes through the door and she walks in behind him, Stitch sitting atop her shoulder. The bartender yells out at them, “We don’t serve humans here.”

Not five seconds later someone yells out, “Tibon, they’re with me.” She follows the voice with her eyes to find a chubby creature with a metal eye and robotic hand. His hat is hanging lopsided on his head; honestly, he looks like he’s close to collapse until his eyes land on Jim.

“Jimbo,” He calls out, Jim scowls playfully at the obvious nickname, “you’ve grown up,” Morph comes out of wherever he hides on Jim and flies to the man, making a high pitched squealing noise. “Morph, old buddy! How you doing?”

The man’s eyes land on Lilo as Morph curls up against his cheek and he puts a hand over his heart, pretending to swoon, “Jimbo, yee got yourself a girlfriend, or is she a Mrs. Hawkins?”

Lilo raises a brow as Jim seems to lose the ability to speak for a moments until he clears his throat, his cheeks burning a bright red, and stutters out,“No, Silver, this is Lieutenant Lilo of the Galactic Federation, and she’s not at all romantically involved with me.”

Silver looks her up and down, his metal eye seeming to scan everything about her. He double-takes when he sees the belt and shakes his head. “I apologize, my dear, I had no idea.” He holds out his hand and she takes it, regretting it when he lifts it to his mouth and kisses it. Stitch growls as Lilo squirms, not wanting to be rude and pull her hand away; not when this man could have an important lead in their investigation.

“Alright, Silver,” Jim says, fanning his mouth away from her hand, “she doesn’t want your germs on her, and I’m pretty sure her friend is pretty close to biting your head off.”

Silver eyes find Stitch and he raises a brow, “I’m sorry, friend. Didn’t know she was your lady.”

Stitch grumbles out, “ _ Ah-qae jihad _ , Lilo.”

Lilo reaches up to scratch his head calmingly. “We can’t blast him, Stitch,” Lilo says, loud enough so the man can hear her and will know exactly how tempted Stitch is to attack, “it wouldn’t be polite.”

Silver’s eyes widen for a moment before he lets out a deep, hearty laugh. “Ah, Jimbo, you’ve brought some amusing friends.” He steps back and gestures to the table he was sitting at, “Come, sit.”

Lilo sits on the same side as Jim, which is opposite to Silver, and Stitch sits next to her, squeezed between her and Jim.

As Silver orders a new drink, Jim leans over to whisper, “You shouldn’t let Stitch keep making threats like that, someone might actually take him up on it.”

Lilo raises brow as she says, “Didn’t I mention that Stitch is basically invincible, he’s actually fallen into a volcano and came out only slightly singed.”

Jim’s mouth falls open before he says, “Oh, now some of your stories make more sense, knowing that he’s invincible.”

Silver turns back at that moment and says, “Now, I’m guessing the pretty lady is here to investigate the disappearances and murders with you.”

Jim starts to say “Yes” but catches himself as the sentence catches up with him. “Murders? Last time I checked, there was only one murder.”

Silver shakes his head, slurping some of his frothing drink, as he says, “Nah, a new body was found last night.” His eyes find Jim and he softens somewhat, looking concerned.

“Whose?” Jim asks, his eyes closed tightly, Lilo guesses he’s bracing himself for the news.”

“Vinna Skȳmt,” Silver says quietly. Jim’s closed eyelids tighten before he slowly opens his eyes and Silver says, “I know you were close, I’m sorry.”

Jim nods, he seems to be biting the inside of his cheek as he says, “It’s fine, stuff like that happens. People die in our line of work.” He says that . . . but he doesn’t seem to mean it. She watches as his hand clenches under the table and his fingers curl into his palm, his nails are probably biting into his the skin of his palm.

Lilo wonders who Vinna was and why Jim seems so  _ crushed _ by her death. She doesn’t think he’ll tell her, but she thinks she’ll offer still offer her shoulder to cry on if he needs it, so she slowly reaches over Stitch and rests her hand over Jim.

He freezes at first, sort of flinching, before he looks down at her hand and realizes that she’s trying to comfort him instead of trying to hurt him. She wonders what could have made him so jumpy towards people touching him; then again, she knows exactly what made him that jumpy. She knows what it’s like to see something flying towards her and have her first instinct be to dodge, not catch, even if it’s a ball in gym class. Years of fighting, aliens and Stitch’s cousins alike, have made her jumpy beyond doubt.

Jim looks over at her and smiles gratefully before turning his gaze back to Silver. “So, what happened to her ship and her crew?”

Silver shrugs. “They’re gone,” He replies, staring down at his mug of alcohol, “nobody has any idea what happened to them.”

Jim inhales sharply. That must hit him hard too. He must be worried about his own crew, if he has one, and what would happen to them should he be the next one brutally murdered.

Lilo decides to jump into the conversation, “Jim said you might have a lead in the investigation. What is it?”

Silver sighs, not in a leisurely way but in a ‘I’m not sure I want to tell you this’ sort of way, before he says, “Now, I’m only saying what I heard, and I’m not saying I believe it either, but some of the other Spacers are talking about the old legends.”

Jim tenses, his whole body freezing, as the words exit Silver’s lips. Jim doesn’t say anything, but his posture says enough. Whatever these old legends are, they’re not good news. Not at all.

“What are the old legends?” Lilo asks urgently, leaning forward as Silver takes a sip from his mug.

He opens his mouth to explain when Jim says, “Nothing, they’re just legends.”

Silver raises a brow and shakes his head. “You of all people should know that legends always hold a kernel of truth, Jimbo.”

Jim pales, his eyes closing for second, and then he sighs. “Tell her, and pass me some of that beer. I’m gonna need it.”

Silver nods and slides him one of the two mugs on the table before he turns back to Lilo and says, “The old legends are the stories parents in this solar system tell their children to get them to behave. They’re the shadows that creep through the night. They’re the monsters that hide in the closets or under the beds. They’re nothing, and yet so many fear them and their darkness.”

Lilo listens intently, keeping an eye on Jim who pales even more with every word, “According to legend, they were creatures who lived on planet in this solar system eons ago. Sadly, their planet was swallowed by a black hole, but the creatures lived because their kind was invincible, the first gods some call them. Their young grew in darkness and cold, never knowing the light and warmth of the sun, and they grew bitter in their darkness and shadows.

“Bitter towards the stories of sunshine and flowers their parents told. Bitter towards the people who were still out in the sunshine and playing with flowers. When the last of the old generation died, the young who’d never seen the light of day decided to take matters into their own hands, creating a machine that would transport them wherever they liked.”

Silver pauses as if for emphasis before he says, “They found their way back to the planets of light and warmth, and  _ destroyed  _ everything in their paths. They razed cities and burned gardens, basking in the warm, destructive powers of the flames they had never had growing up.”

Lilo imagines that in another life, Silver would have been a great storyteller. His silver tongue makes her wonder if he got his name from telling stories. He sure tells this one right, Lilo knows there are goosebumps on her arms from the story, but that’s all it is.

A story.

She can’t tell the Galactic Federation that the murders and disappearances of ships are being caused by a bitter species whose planet was gobbled up by a black hole. She’d never be given another mission.

“They were called the Ondska,” Silver says, “and some say that after they had their fill of destruction they traveled out into the dark lands, not being able to return back to their home planet, and lived there for the time being, though they vowed they would return one day.”

Lilo looks over at Jim and he shakes his head. “Silver - “

“I told you, Jimbo,” Silver cuts him off, “that I’m not saying I personally believe it, but that’s what the older Spacers are saying, and you’d do well to take it into consideration. The Spacers are gettin’ scared, and they need something to believe that makes sense, rather than believing that their own people could do this to them. Nobody wants to believe that they’re co-workers and friends are capable of evil.”

And Lilo supposes she sees his point. If someone were going around in Kokaua  killing people by draining all the blood from their bodies, Lilo would rather believe that a vampire was hunting around her town rather than believe one of her beloved neighbors might be a murderer.

Jim doesn’t see it that way though. “Do you have any _ real _ leads?”

Silver’s metal eye narrows as he stares at Jim. “I don’t know what you want from me, Jim, but I’ve told you all I know. The least you could do is be a little friendly.”

“People are dying, John,” Jim says seriously, using Silver’s first name for the first time during their whole conversation.

Silver leans forward, a menacing glare taking over his eyes. “And you think I don’t care.”

“You didn’t seem to care too much on the  _ Legacy _ ,” Jim states, referring to something that Lilo doesn’t understand and she decides not to intervene; they obviously have some issues they need to work out.

Silver huffs. “I thought we were over that,” Silver says in a flat voice, “besides, I told you it was Scroop who cut that rope, I didn’t tell him to. He did it on his own.”

“He was part of your crew though,” Jim says, something dark glinting in his eyes, “that makes whatever he did your responsibility.”

Silver snorts. “So if someone in your crew was arrested for a crime, would you want to be arrested too? Because they were your responsibility.”

Jim says, “I pay the price for my crew’s crimes, yes.”

Silver rolls his eyes. “You and your self-righteousness.”

“At least I’m not a greedy son of a - “

“Boys,” Lilo interrupts, not wanting this to escalate any further; they’ve already drawn enough attention, several heads are turned their way, “if we can’t say nothing nice to each other then let’s not talk at all.”

They both grumble something under their breaths.

“Better,” Lilo comments.

Silver sighs before saying, “Look, Jimbo, I know you’re obviously not in your best mood, not after finding out about Vinna, but I’m only telling you what I’ve heard. I don’t know anything other than what I’ve heard from my crew, and other crews that I’ve happened upon.”

Lilo looks at Jim, expecting him to offer some type of apology. He looks at her with narrowed eyes before sighing and turning his gaze to Silver. “I suppose I overreacted, I just want to find whoever’s doing this before more people get hurt, before my crew gets hurt. I guess with all that’s happened, I’m more on edge than I’d like to be.”

Silver nods, accepting the apology, and Lilo smiles to herself.  _ And Professor Yarbi said I wasn’t a good negotiator _ , Lilo thinks to herself,  _ well, I did break that Laga’s nose because he wouldn’t agree with me. I  _ was  _ only a freshman, though. _


End file.
